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1386- 1929- E. WELLECH METHOD AND APPARATUS FDR SPINNING GLASS Filed April 18, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 R; a. n

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ATVTORNEY E. WELLECH 1,738,21 7

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SPINNING GLASS Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 3, 1929.

Filed April 18. 1924 El 56 57 1': 58% 77 3/ l n H L u INVEN'IOR 34 0/11] ll/lfick.

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T/RTTORNEY Patented Dec. 3, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDMUND WELLECH, OF OORNING, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB TO CORNING GLASS WORKS, OI COB-KING, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK um'non am) arrsaarus son. srmnmo GLASS Application filed April 18, 1924, Serial No. 707,470, and in Austria May 4, 1983.

This invention relates to the glass art, and more Particularly to the art of spinning glass.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved method of spinning glass, and a new and improved apparatus for carrying out this method.

A further object of this invention is to provide a method of producing long glass wool threads, and for winding up these threads in such a manner that they may be unwound as a continuous thread.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide means for spinning, winding and unwinding a group of threads simu taneously as a glass yarn.

It has heretofore been impossible to manufacture spun glass in long continuous threads, because of the inability to wind these threads in such a way that they might eventually be unwound as a continuous thread.

Among the difficulties which it has heretofore been impossible to overcome have been the inability to find the end of the glass thread after it was wound onto a drum or wheel, and the inabilt to prevent adhesion between the threads 0 a given layer, or between successive layers. As a result of this, the spun glass could only be removed from the drum by cutting it into a series of threads whose length did not exceed that of the circumference of the drum.

The use of spun glass has therefore been largely limited to cases in which a mass of glass fibers were satisfactory, as glass wool for thermal insulation, and where short lengths of glass threads could be utilized, as in the manufacture of Christmas tree ornaments and novelties.

In the present invention I have provided a means for overcoming these difiiculties, said means consisting in winding the glass thread in a helix to form each layer, and in winding adjacent la ers in different directions so that the fibers o the threads of the adjacent'layers do not tend to unite.

In prior attempts to produce glass yarn it has been customary to guide the spun glass threads through rin or other directing means, so as to cause e glass threads to converge on a given point. These attempts have been unsuccessful because the bending of the glass threads has resulted in their breakage, especially where there was a sharp change in their direction. Another disadvantage of these guiding means has resulted from the fact that the rapid and continued contact of the glass thread with the guiding means soon roughened the latter to such an extent that it out the glass threads, and necessitated frequent stop ing of the machine to replace the roughened guides.

I have found that this difliculty can readily be overcome by having the source of the glass thread arranged in a plane which is substantially at right angles to the axis of the member on which the threads are wound, since this draws the threads to ether into a yarn without breakage and without the use of guides, This is facilitated by having the source of the glass thread arranged in the same plane as the pitch line of the helix in which the lass is wound. This enables the glass threads to wind up as a continuous yarn, which is considerably stronger than the combined unit strength of the individual threads and, furthermore, should one or two of these be broken, it will not affect the usefulness of the yarn.

I have also found that it is of advantage, where the thread or yarn is to be unwound, to make the pitch of the helix large enough so that the adjacent threads or yarns in the same layer are spaced apart. This facilitates unwinding and also makes it easier for the operator to detect broken threads.

By producing spun glass in long continuous threads, which can be unwound as desired, it is made available for a whole new field of useful purposes. As instances of this I might mention the weaving of the glass thread into textiles, filter cloth, movmg picture screens, and storage battery plates, glass thread for insulating electric wires, brushes for industrial uses, and glass ro for acking.

ith t e above and other ob 'ects in view,

I have described my new met 0d, and the preferred apparatus for carrying it into efect, in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved mechanism with a portion of the drum roken away;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of my spinning table on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, with certain parts omitted;

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section on the line 4-4 of Figs. 2 and 3, showing the mounting of the canes and burners in a plane which is tilted at the same angle as the pitch of the helical winding of the glass thread, the space between adjacent turns of the latter being exaggerated for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 5 is a lan view of the structure shown in Fig. 4, ut with the drum and canes omitted;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through my winding mechanism on the line 66 of Fi .2;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of my winding mechanism, showing a portion of the drum in section, on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 8 and 9 are horizontal sectional details on the lines 88 and 99, respectively, of Fig. 6;

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are sectional details through my reversing mechanism, Fig. 10 bein a vertical section on the line 1010 of 1g. 7; Fig. 11 a vertical section on the line 1111 of Figs. 10 and 12. and Fig. 12 a horizontal section on the line 12-12 of F i 11; and

Figs. 13 and 14 are details of the rear cane support, Fig. 13 being a vertical section on the line 13-13 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 14 a plan view of Fig. 13.

General description As disclosed herein, my improved apparatus comprises two related mechanisms, a spinning table 20, and a winding mechanism 21.

The spinning table is adapted to hold any desired number of glass canes 22, from which the glass threads are spun, and automatically feed these canes forward at the desired speed.

The winding mechanism comprises a drum 23, which is mounted not only for rotation but also for automatic reciprocation, in order that the spun glass may be wound in a series of even layers.

It is to be understood that the winding mechanism can be arranged vertically or horizontally, as desired, this simply necessitating a different mountingof the mechanism.

Briefly, the sequence of the operations involved is to gradually advance the glass canes 22 to a series of burners 24, which melt the glass. A drop of the molten glass is then caught on a suitable implement and thrown over onto the rotating drum 23. This is done for each thread it is desired to spin and can be done either manuall or automatically, as will be understo b those skilled in the art without further escription. The glass thrown onto the drum is wound up by the rotation of the latter, thus spinning the glass thread :0 (Figs. 2 and 4) at the rate of rotation of the drum. The drum is also given a simultaneous lateral motion, in order that its successive rotations may wind the glass in the form of a helix, each thread of which will be parallel to the preceding thread. As described below, the threads will preferably be wound up as yarn, each turn of which will preferably be spaced a predetermined distance from the next turn. W hen the drum has reached its limit of travel in one direction, it is automatically reversed, as described below, and the next layer of spun glass is wound on top of the receding layer, but at an angle thereto. hen the desired number of layers have been wound on the drum, it can readil be removed and replaced by an empty rum. The glass which has thus been wound onto the first drum can then be unwound, and fed to any suitable mechanism for forming it into the desired product.

Having thus indicated the'general nature and operation of my invention, I will now explain its detailed construction and operation.

Spinning table Power from any suitable source, such as an electric motor (not shown), is transmitted to a main drive shaft 25, and from this shaft is conveyed by suitable belts to a series of counter-shafts to drive the spinning table 20 and the winding mechanism 21.

To operate the spinning table 20, power is transmitted from shaft 25 to a counter-shaft 26 by a belt 27, and from the counter-shaft 26 to a drive shaft 28 on the spinning table by a belt 30 (Fig. 1). Any suitable mechanism. such as a loose pulle ,29 SFigs. 1 and 2) on drive shaft 28, may e uti ized to enable the spinning table to be disconnected from the driving mechanism.

The spinning table comprises a framework 31 which carries a plurality of cane supports 32 and 33, the former preferably being stationary at the front of the table, and the latter being movable to feed the canes forward. This is accomplished by mounting the movable support 33 between guides 39 on the framework 31 (Fig. 13), and actuating it, as described later, by a screw spindle 34, which is fixed in suitable bearings 35 and 36 on the framework to permit it to have a rotary, but not a translatory, motion. On its rear end, the spindle 34 is provided with a worm-wheel 37 which is actuated by a worm 38 on an auxiliary shaft 40 carried by the framework. Power is transmitted to shaft 40, from the drive shaft 28, by a belt 41 that passes over oppositely arranged cone pulleys 42 and 43 on the shafts 28 and 40, respectively (Figs.

The speed at which the canes are advanced can be varied by shifting the belt along the cone pulleys b the belt shifting mechanism Figs. 1 and 2 which comprises a frame 44 t at surrounds the belt 41 andis threaded on a shaft 45 carried by the framework 31. Shaft 45 has a bevel car 46 that meshes with a bevel gear 47 on t e end of an adjusting shaft 48, also carried by the framework 31. The inner end of frame 44 is guided by a slotted bracket 49, secured to the framework 31, to prevent rotation of the frame. By rotating shaft 48, shaft 45 is also rotated, thus shifting the frame 44 laterally in slotted bracket 49 and moving-the belt to the portion of the cone pulleys which will advance the canes at the desired speed.

As the canes are advanced, their front ends are subjected to the action of a series of burners 24, carried by shelves 50 depending from the front cane support 32. These burners may be of any desired type, e. g. Bunsen burners or, as shown herein, burners fed with a mixture of gas and air supplied by the pipes 51 and 52, respectively. By adjusting valves 53, with which the burners are provided, the mixture can be regulated to produce a flame of the desired intensity (Fig. 3)

As described later, I find it is highly desirable to mount the canes and burners in such a manner that their planes can be tilted and maintained at any desired inclination. For this purpose, the front cane support 32 is pivotally mounted on a rod 54 forming part of the front bearing 35 (Fig. The rear cane support is also made tiltable by pivoting a cane retaining bar 55 to its front face, at 59 (Figs. 3, 13 and 14). This bar has a series of notches 56 to receive the ends of the canes,

which are retained in position in the notches by spring clips 57 carried by the retaining bar. The latter is rigidly connected to the front cane support by parallel bars 58 and 60, and hence when a tilting movement is given to the front cane support it will be transmitted to the rear retaining bar 55. The tilting action is effected by grasping a handle 61 projecting from the front cane-support 32, compressing a spring latch 62 (Fig. 5) carried by the handle, to disengage it from a rack 63 carried by one of the supports 64 of the framework, and inserting the latch in another notch of the rack 63 (see Fig. 4). Suitable set screws 65 and 66 are provided in the front end of the framework to limit the tilt of cane support 32 to a predetermined angle, so that the operator merely has to move the handle up or down until it contacts with one of these set screws.

As shown in Fig. 4, the mechanism which carries the burners comprises a series of parallel horizontal bars 67, and a series of vertical bars 68, the latter'terminating in the burner shelves 50. These bars are pivotally mounted at their intersections in such a mannor that the burners 24 will remain vertical regardless of the inclination given the plane of the canes and the plane of the burner tops.

As shown in Fig. 5, the front cane support has a series of cane receiving notches 70, similar to the notches 56 in the retaining bar 55 of the rear cane support 33.

Instead of mounting the latter directly on the screw spindle 34, I find it preferable to transmit the propelling action of the spindle to the rear cane support through a releasable cap 71 which is threaded on its upper surface and is normally held in operative en agement with the spindle 34 by a series of olts 72 (Fig. 13). These bolts are carried by a bar 73 which is pivoted to the support 33 at 74, and is normally held elevated by a latch pin 75 on' the support 33.

To prevent the rear cane support from striking the parts at the front end of the spinning table, in case the operator should fail to stop the machine at the proper time, I provide an automatic stop. This comprises an adjustable lug 76, carried by the framework 31 at the point where it is desired to stop the forward travel of the rear cane support, and a releasable connection between the bar 73 and the support 33. TlllS releasable connection is the latch pin 75, which is normally held in a position to support the bar 73 by a spring 77 (Fig. 14), but which has a projecting finger 78 that is adapted to contact with the lug 76 (Fig. 2) when the support 33 reaches the desired stopping point. Further rotation of spindle 34 withdraws the pin 75 from beneath the bar 73, against the compression of spring 77. This permits the bar 73 to swing on the pivot 74 and lower the cap 71, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 13, so that its threads no longer engage thespindle 34, thus stopping the advancing movement of the support 33, even though the spindle is still rotated.

Winding mechanism The mechanism 21, for winding up the spun glass, comprises five main partsthe drum 23 upon which the glass is wound, the supporting mechanism, the rotating mechanism, the reciprocating mechanism, and the reversing mechanism.

The drum 23.This is preferably formed of two partsa ribbed spider 100 and a removable drum cylinder 101, the latter being supported by a circumferential flange 102 on the spider and being retained thereon either by its own weight or by any convenient clamping means (not shown). The drum cylinder 101 preferably consists of a series of segments 103, in this case eight, which are bolted together to constitute a light and evenly balanced framework for receiving the spun glass (Figs. 1 and 2 The segments may be made of any suita le material, e. g. light aluminum castings or veneer wood glued crosswise.

Supporting mechanierm-The supporting structure for the winding mechanism comprises a frame or pedestal 104, which is mounted on any suitable foundation and is provided with bearings 105, 1.06 and 107 for a drive shaft 108, and with guides 110 and 111 for a screw spindle 112 (Figs. 1 and 6). The upper guide 111 for the spindle 112. comprises a plate 113 which is rigidly secured to the arm 104, but is removab e to permit the parts to be assembled. The spindle is retained in its bearings by a pair of nuts 114 and 115 (Figs. 6 and 9).

The screw s indle 112 carries :3. correspondingly threade glide-shoe 116, which is given a reciprocatin motion by the screw spindle, as described filter, lateral dis lacement of the glide-shoe being prevented y ides 119 on the frame 104 (Figs. 6 and 9) The glide-shoe supports the drum 23 by means of an interposed bushing 117. At its upper end this bushing has a flanged portion 118 which is adapted to engage a corresponding recess 120 in the top of the spider 100, and at its lower end the bushing 117 has threads 121 to receive a check nut 122 and a lock nut 123, for firmly securing the spider to the glide-shoe 116 (Fig. 6).

To compel thebushing to turn with the drive shaft 108, and yet to permit it to slide up and down on the shaft, the bushing and shaft have corresponding keyways 124 and 125 which are maintained in re 'stration by a row of ball-bearings 126, held in place by a retaining ring 127 (Figs. 6 and 8). This movement of the bushing is transmitted to the spider 100 by a key 128.

Reciprocating mcham'sm.-Screw spindle 112 is driven through a train of continuously rotating bevel gears, 130, 131 and 132, when a movable clutch member 133, which is slidably secured to the spindle by the key 134, is moved into engagement with gear 130 or gear 132, as hereinafter described. For this pur:

pose the gears 130 and 132 are provided with clutch jaws 135 and 136, adapted to mesh with and drive corresponding clutch jaws 137 and 138 of clutch member 133. As shown in Figs. 10-12, the gears 130, 131 and 132 each have projecting hubs to facilitate their mounting in suitable hearings in a housing 140 carried by the frame 104, Gear 130 is held in place by a collar 152, and gear 132 is retained in ositionby a collar 139, the positioning of these two gears serving to mid gear 131 in place.

The winding mechanism thus far described is actuated by power from the main drive shaft 25, which is transmitted to a pulley 141 on the drive shaft 108 by a belt 142 Fig. 1). This imparts a rotary motion to rum 23 and draws the threads of spun glass.

Power is also transmitted from the main drive shaft 25, by a belt 143, to a flanged pulle 144 on a stub shaft 145 that is journale inolugs 146 and 147 rojecting from the housing 140 (Figs. 1 and 7). Stub shaft 145 also carries a worm 148 which drives a worm-wheel 150 ke ed to the hub 151 of bevel gear 130 on w ich it is retained by a suitable threaded collar 152 (Figs. 7, 10 and 11). When clutch member 133 engages the clutch jaw 136 on gear 132, power from the worm wheel 150 will be transmitted to the screw spindle 112 through bevel gears 130, 131 and 132, and clutch member 133. When clutch member 133 engages the clutch jaw 135 of gear 130, the motion of screw spindle 112 will be reversed, because gears 130 and 132 rotate in op osite directions. When clutch member 133 181118.11 intermediate posi tion, between gears 130 and 132, no motion will be imparted to the screw spindle.

To shift clutch member 133 into engagement with either gear 130, or 132, or to maintain it in the neutral position, there is to vided a clutch shifting lever 153 whic is pivoted at 154 in the housing 140. This lever When it is desired to shift the clutch member 133, this spring is easily compressed by operating a handle 164 (Fig. 7) on the opposite end of lever 153.

Reversing mechamIsm.The lever 153 is also pivotally connected with a controlling rod 165 which operates in a slot 166 in the frame 104 and has a stop 167 at any suitable position (Figs. 6 and 7). A pair of stops 168 and 170 are adjustably mounted on the glide-shoe 116 at a distance apart corresponding to that portion of the drum on which it is desired to wind the glass thread. When the glide-shoe 116 is moved far enough to cause the step 168 to contact with the stop 167, it lifts the latter, thus operating the clutch control lever 153, and moving clutch member 133 out of engagement with gear 132 and into engagement with gear 130. A similar automatic reversal occurs when the stop 170 on the glide-shoe 116 reaches the stop 167 during the downward travel of the glideshoe. By placing the stops 168 and 170 the desired distance apart, the lateralmovement of the drum can be reversed at will, thus giving the layer of thread the desired width.

The movable clutch member 133 can be locked in neutral position, after bein shifted Opemtion It is believed the operation of my apparatus will be clear from the above detailed description of the mechanism, but I desire to supplement this by the following discussion of the factors involved.

The thicknessof the spun glass will be proportional to the rate of travel of the drum, and this can be regulated by the speed of rotation of the main drive shaft 25 and by a suitable choice of the gearing operated thereby. It can also be regulated by the diameter of drum used. .Where the spun glass is to be fabricated into a woven or twisted product, a very fine thread is desirable because it is more flexible. On the other hand, a fine thread has relatively small tensile strength. By spinning a plurality of these threads together as a yarn, I find that I can secure both flexibility and tensile strength. The number of threads in the yarn is regulated by the number of canes 22 from which the glass is spun. For some purposes I find it useful to employ 16 canes, whereas for other purposes it is useful to employ a greater or lesser number. Whatever the number of canes used, the threads from all the canes will preferably be wound up on the drum as a unit, being drawn together into a yarn and overlapping one another like the individual wires in a telephone cord. Such a yarn will possess considerably greater strength than the sum of the strengths of its unit threads, will be sufiiciently flexible for fabrication into the desired product, and will reduce the likelihood of entanglement between adjacent threads or between adjacent yarn in the same layer.

Where only short sections of glass thread are desired, as for glass wool insulation, the lateral motion of the drum can be omitted, but for the production of long glass threads or yarn that are to be unwound, I find that it is essential to give the drum a lateral travel as this prevents the adhesion between threads or yarn of the samelayer. By making the pitch greater than the cross-section of the yarn, aspace will be left between adjacent turns, thus avoiding any possibility of adhesion therebetween and aiding the operator in detecting broken threads. This space may be omitted or varied within Wide limits by altering the pitch and the number of threads being spun.

The reciprocating motion of the drum effectively prevents adhesion between adjacent layers of thread or yarn, since the helical windings are in difi'erent directions.

I have also found that the best results are obtained when the plane of the canes is tilted at the same angle as the pitch of the helix which the thread or am forms as it is wound onto the drum. TlllS enables the glass to be wound onto the drum in the same plane in which the canes are mounted, and thereby tends to prevent breakage of the individual threads. This also draws the glass threads together so that they will wind up as a yarn instead of as individual threads.

Although I have herein disclosed only manual means for giving the plane of the canes the desired tilt, it will be apparent that thiscan be accomplished by any well known shifting mechanism operated in synchronism with the driving mechanism, and that the angle of tilt will be reversed each time the lateral motion of the drum is reversed.

Examples of the relation of drum speed, R. P. M., and lateral travel of drum, with reference to the pitch and the size of the threads, are as follows With a drum speed of 400 R. P. M., a vertical travel of 50 cm. in 5 minutes, and a 16 thread yarn, there would be 640 threads per cm. length of drum, and the pitch would be 0.25 mm.

With a drum speed of 400 R. P. M., a vertical travel of 50 cm. in 1 minute, and a 16 thread yarn, there would be 128 threads per cm. length of drum, and the pitch would be 1.25 mm.

With a drum speed of 300 R. P. M., a vertical travel of 50 cm. in minute, and a 16 thread yarn, there would be 48 threads per cm. length of drum, and the pitch would be 3.3 mm.

Using the above drum speeds and vertical travel, but a 32 thread yarn instead of a 16 thread yarn, the pitch would remain the same but there would be twice as many threads per cm. length of drum.

It will be obvious that the thread or yarn produced by my invention can be rewound into yarn containing any desired number of threads, can be subjected to any desired treatment, such as drawin through a gelatin bath to increase its strengt and can be fabricated into the desired products.

While the preferred embodiment of my invention involves the use of both the spinning table and the winding mechanism disclosed herein, it will be obvious that my invention is not limited to their joint use, or to the precise mechanism shown.

I sometimes prefer to spin the glass from a molten mass contained in a tank or reservoir provided with outlet orifices from which the glass will issue as threads under the influence of gravity and the windin action of the drum. In this event, the win ing mechanism would operate in the manner described above, but would preferabl be arranged horizontally, directly under t e reservoir.

Other modifications, within the scope of the following claims, will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. The method of producing glass wool yarn, which comprises spinning the glass simultaneously from a pluralit of canes arranged in a plane, and helical y winding the resultant threads, as a unit, onto a rotary member in the same plane in which the canes are mounted.

2. The method of producing glass yarn, which comprises spinning the glass into threads from a plurality of canes arranged in a plane and windin the threads onto a member whose axis is an stantially perpendicular to the plane of the canes.

3. The method of winding glass threads into yarn as the threads are spun, which comprises spinning the glass from a plurality of canesmounted in a substantially horizontal plane, and windin them onto a drum whose axis is substantia y Vertical.

4. The method of reventin the entanglement of spun glass t reads, w ich com rises winding the threads in a plurality 0 even layers and in crossing the threads of adjacent layers.

5. The method of preventing the entanglement of spun glass threads wound into a yarn, which comprises spinning the glass from a pluralit of canes arranged 1n a plane, and win ing the resultant threads elically on a member whose axis is substantially at right angles to the plane of the canes whereby the resultant threads are formed into a yarn.

6. Apparatus for producing long glass wool thread, comprising a spinnin mechanism and a winding mechanism, t e latter having means for rotating it and means for moving it lateral].

7. Apparatus or producing long glass wool thread, comprising a spinni mechanism and a winding mechanism, t e latter having means for rotating it, and means for winding the lass threads thereon in a helix whose pitch 1S adjustable to separate adjacent turns.

8. Apparatus for producing glass yarn, comprising a spinning mechamsm which has means for producing a purality of glass threads simultaneously, and a mechanism for helicall winding these threads as a unit, the glass t reads, as they leave the spinnin mechanism, being arran in a plane whic is parallel to the pitch 0 the helical winding.

9. Apparatus for producing lass yarn, comprising a spinning mechanism which has a plurality of glass canes arranged in a plane for simultaneously producing a plurality of threads, and a mechanism for helically winding these threads as a unit, the plane of the canes being parallel to the pitch of the helical winding.

10. Apparatus for producing long glass wool thread, comprising a spinning mechanism and a winding mechanism including means for helically windin the thread in a plurality of even layers whose itch is the same, and means for reversing t e pitch of adjacent lines.

11. Apparatus for spinning glass, comprising a spinnin table, means for mount- 1ng a plurality o canes thereon in a plane, and means for adjusting the last mentioned means to any desired an le.

In testimony whereo I hereunto afiix my signature.

EDMUND WELLECH. 

